The Gray Area (2010) – Independent Film Review

By Bobby Bless on Friday, 4th February 2011

We receive a lot of indie films to review for the site from directors, or studios, who believe that their film is going to be the next Clerks. Most of the time, the films that are sent to us are nonsensical drivel that really isn’t worth writing about or decent attempts at filmmaking, but nothing really to write home about. However though, every so often, we do receive that rare gem amongst the tower of low-budget films that has the qualifications to be a well-rounded film. One such film is Chapin Hemmingway’s The Gray Area.

In the film, three lifelong friends, Joey (Gavin Bristol), Jonah (Morgan Lee) and Christian (Ian McMilan) are reunited after the death, an apparent suicide, of their friend Gavin (Jesse Henderson). Together, the three cope with the loss of their friend and try to figure out where they are in their lives and what path they will be traversing down later on in life. Essentially, The Gray Area is a “Coming-of-Age” film… that is until Jonah theorizes that Gavin’s death might not have been a suicide. From there on out, the trio set out to find the reasoning behind their friend’s death.

For the most part, the cast of The Gray Area is superb. Gavin Bristol does a solid job playing Joey, a struggling actor who clings onto his drug addiction and endless one night stands as if they are his only lifeline. As the reckless one of the group, Bristol takes a seemingly unlikeable character and manages to deliver a performance that gives the viewer a sense of hope… a hope that one day, Joey will see the errors of his ways and somehow turn his life around. Morgan Lee is equally as impressive as Bristol. Lee’s portrayal of Jonah, a recovering addict and heart of the group, is nothing short of fantastic and without his character, this movie would be meaningless. The only blemish amongst the cast is Ian McMilan’s Christian. The problem isn’t that McMilan didn’t do a solid job on the role… which he does later on in the film… the problem is that his character isn’t really fleshed out enough and doesn’t really have much to do until later on in the film.

The true star of The Gray Area is the film’s director, Chapin Hemmingway. Hemmingway, who co-wrote the film with Tyson Balcomb, has a gift behind the lens and makes a low-budget indie film look better than one of its big-budget counterparts. His only downfall is that his writing, namely with McMilan’s character, isn’t as solid as should be. Hopefully, with time, Hemmingway can improve upon his writing and produce even more fantastic films.

When it comes to the flaws, there aren’t that many. There are some sound discrepancies (moments where it sounds like they were dubbing over some lines in a studio and left the microphone on a bit too long) in the film, but they don’t happen often and to the untrained ear, you wouldn’t even take notice to it in the first place. Other than the sound discrepancies, there’s the little writing issue that was already mentioned and something The Vocabulariast mentioned in his review… the ending. I understand why Hemmingway put it there and the importance of it, but, for me at least, it feels like it could have been shown as a flashback sequence earlier in the film.

Overall, The Gray Area is a solid little indie film. Without the performances from the cast and Chapin Hemmingway’s skills behind the lens, the film would be your run of the mill coming of age tale, but luckily, the end result was a film that keeps your interest throughout.

Final Synopsis: The Gray Area is a well-rounded low-budget indie film that is on par with anything a big-budget drama could deliver.

Points Lost: -1 for some characters not being as fleshed out as they should be, -1 for the end.

Lesson Learned: Some people regret banging a good looking woman.

Burning Question: If you’re a straight guy, why would you put your mouth anywhere near a glory hole?

The Gray Area
8/10